Biden jokes: 'Barack's learning to speak without a teleprompter; I'm learning to speak with one'

5/21/13 8:17 PM EDT

Vice President Joe Biden asked that the teleprompter machine be taken down ahead of his remarks at a Jewish heritage event Tuesday night, and used it as a chance to crack a joke about President Obama's dependence on prepared text.

“You can’t tell Barack that the teleprompter’s down," he said. "The standing joke in the office is Barack’s learning to speak without a teleprompter; I’m learning to speak with one.”